


Floating Down

by booogiepop



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-12
Updated: 2016-05-14
Packaged: 2018-04-20 09:11:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 19,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4781813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/booogiepop/pseuds/booogiepop
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After escaping from the failed trap she set for the Crystal Gems, Peridot takes refuge in the alleys of a human city - missing a foot, several fingers, and a shard of her gem. All she wants is to be left alone, so why does this human who passes her every day insist on trying to talk to her? Set after 'Friend Ship'.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Through the Clouds

Peridot was not a sentimental person. As she plummeted downwards, her metal fingers trailing uselessly behind her, she did not experience any visions flashing before her eyes, nor any sadness, nor passionate regrets. Only a few thoughts went through her mind, and she held them clearly. As one of Homeworld’s brightest kind, keeping a calm and clinical mind at all times was one of the few things she could pride herself on. Even a time where death was surely imminent.

Her first thought was a frustration. Not a wild, emotional frustration, but rather, a justified one at an avoidable situation. She did not know what had caused her hand flight to fail. Had her fingers been damaged during one of her scraps with those infernal crystal gems? Had she flown to a dangerous altitude, or even simply lost concentration, even for a moment? No, she decided. She surely would have noticed the first, and been mindful enough to avoid the second. And a fatal lapse in concentration was so unlikely it barely deserved to be mentioned as a plausible hypothesis. Therefore, she decided the most likely cause of this little incident was simply an oversight in the prototype technology of which much of her was contrived. That proved to be a small comfort. While she regretted having no means to send the data of an autopsy back to her home world, to stamp out whatever design flaw had had such ruinous consequences, Peridot was grateful that her failure was – mainly – beyond her control.

This brought her to her second thought- annoyance. As much as she would have liked to blame it all on her technology, Peridot was aware that it was she that took the risks. She had known that attempting to fly for long periods of time was unwise, with the technology capable of lifting her heavy frame still only knew. But she had given in to personal weakness. Ever since her escape from the clods that had cost her her foot, life on this planet had become even more difficult. She had had to walk at an uncomfortable angle, and every time her shortened limb pockmarked the earth, she would grit her teeth. Not only was stumping along the ground like some sort of corrupted gem demoralising, she had convinced herself it was also inefficient. And so she decided to primarily stick to flight. Which led her here. Ever since escaping that ship, she had flown north, knowing she was unlikely to have another narrow escape left in her. She didn’t know exactly for how long she had flown before her finger-propellers had failed. It was, at this point, irrelevant. Though her final thoughts before impact flew through her head in just moments, she was nearly out of time. As the ground rushed to meet her, she had time for one final thought. 

Circumstances being as they are, she wondered, and in the absence of any authorities, would a break in mandatory composure be permissible?  
She decided yes, and closed her eyes.

 

***

 

The world was very painful, and very yellow.

Peridot was forced to amend her prior prediction. She was not dead.

Shaking off thoughts of how much she might have liked to be, Peridot tried to concentrate.

The first thing she noticed – and it was difficult to miss – was her headache. Her entire body throbbed, and her sight seemed to be obscured by a thick yellow film. Worst of all, however, was her head. Her ears rang, and a splitting pain scattered every thought she tried to make. Peridot knew she had to check her gem, but there was an even more pressing matter. Hissing, she took stock of her hands. Only two fingers remained telekinetically attached to her right hand, while her left had none. That was the hand she had been flying with, she remembered. She’d need to look for her remaining fingers later. Peridot gently raised her remaining fingers to her gem, and the pain redoubled. She remembered her best efforts to protect her gem before the impact. While she had avoided total destruction, she had not been able to save it from becoming deeply cracked. Running her fingers across its surface, she winced. It seemed to be missing a thin shard.

Between the pain wracking her body, and the newfound hopelessness of her situation, Peridot could not stop herself from beginning to weep. But still, she forced herself to continue her check up. Once she confirmed her four limbs remained attached, she tried to stand. Immediately upon trying to move her head the pain in her gem grew so intense it was all she could do to maintain her physical form. But as sore as the temptation to give in was, she resisted. She knew the dreadful consequence all peridots had to face if they retreated into a broken gem – the most pertinent and disastrous flaw in their design. And so, gritting her teeth against the pain, Peridot pushed herself to her feet and looked around. She could not tell if it was a function of her visor, or simply due to her feverish state, but through the yellow fog she could see small green shapes on the ground, glowing. She made her way to the smallest and brightest shape. It was her missing shard. Immediately after the discovery, her headache managed to worsen. The queasy feeling of seeing a piece of yourself on the ground before you, separate, could never be described. She picked it up with her two remaining fingers, and in her desperation, pressed it to her gem. To her surprise, the pain began to calm, and the fog clouding her sight and her mind started to clear. Holding the fragment in place, she staggered about. The other green shapes, she discovered, were her fingers. With every one she returned to its proper place, she felt a bit calmer, clearer, more encouraged, until she could find no more. Her right hand was still missing its ring finger, while her left had only three fingers left, and no thumb. But now she could focus.

Peridot looked around. She was surrounded by trees, as well as the scattered leaves and broken branches that marked her rude descent. She wondered if that was responsible for cushioning her fall enough to survive. She didn’t know for how long she had been unconscious, but night had fallen, and her small expedition retrieving her missing pieces had left her exhausted. But still was she flushed by her small victories – and so she cobbled together a screen with her remaining fingers.

“This is Peridot, attempting to contact Homeworld…” 

 

***

 

“Useless gem tech!” screeched Peridot. “Cinnabar take you! Why isn’t anything working?”

It was foolish, of course, and Peridot knew exactly why the many tools that were part of her were behaving temperamentally. Her elation at surviving the fall had worn off in a few weeks, and once again, she found herself at breaking point.

“No signal… No signal… Ugh! Shouldn’t they have sent a ship by now? This is Peridot, come in, Homeworld…” 

Of course, there was nothing. As there had been ever since becoming stranded on this miserable planet. Peridot tried something else.

“Please actually have the communicator on you, for once… Jasper? Jasper, do you read me? What’s your status?”

Peridot had been trying to contact Jasper almost as often as Homeworld, but had been having no more luck. Still, to Peridot’s analytical mind, this had been useful in its own way; perhaps Jasper wasn’t answering because she couldn’t. Peridot had no idea what had become of her escort after the crash, and was eager for clues.

Still, they hardly did her any good now.

Peridot sighed and rose to her feet, rubbing the rough edge of her gem absentmindedly. With some check-ups on her limbs, and some adjustments to her form to accommodate her slightly different shape of gem, life had become much more bearable for her. Failing to keep her precious shard close to her gem always resulted in a headache, however.

Peridot’s life was fast starting to lose direction. The status of her shipmates were entirely unknown, and she had no means of completing her mission. Her gem was broken, with no foreseeable means of mending it, she was missing several fingers, and, instead of a right foot, she had a lump of wood she had fashioned herself and fastened to her leg with some spare robonoid ichor she kept on her. She kept moving only in hope of a miracle, and out of fear of the crystal gems.

With every step she took, her makeshift foot jarred her leg. It wasn’t much better than going with only one foot after all, but at least she wasn’t falling over as often.

As Peridot walked, the sky began to darken into a stormy grey, and she glared upwards. Homeworld had long since mastered its own sky, of course. That huge golden sky, where there were no weather aberrations that had not been scheduled, could not have been different to the one she found herself under – which, she thought, was just as difficult and temperamental as the humans that lived under it. 

Peridot stopped. She had just exited the trees, and saw, not far from there, what appeared to be a human settlement. She immediately put her mind to work. It wasn’t the puny town that appeared to have been home to the crystal gems. No, it was much larger. And from what she had seen, humans didn’t like building cities near each other. They were no different from gems in that regard. Therefore – Peridot hoped – she had come a far distance from her pursuers. 

Her relief was short-lived, however, when the first drops of rain began to fall, causing her to jump in alarm. Peridot hated rain. She had only encountered it once before, back in the woods, and her fascination with the alien phenomenon was matched only by her discomfort. She was nothing like Earth’s primitive machines, which were destroyed by the smallest volumes of water, but she was vulnerable to it in her own way. It would run around her fingers and into her vulnerable joints, and the gashes in her protective plating she’d been unable to fix, and seep down her limbs. Of course she’d been built with the means to passively rid herself of foreign materials – she was a reconnaissance gem, after all. But that didn’t prevent the seized up joints, the freezing insides, the jolts of pain, and the malfunctioning body parts. The night she’d discovered rain was the most miserable she had spent on this planet – shivering under whatever protection she had been able to scrounge together beneath the trees and watching in fascination and fear as her fingers twitched and legs jerked at the liquid dripping down her body. No, she was not eager to live that night again.

So, she quickly weighed up her options. There weren’t many. Behind her lay the woods she’d just come from – but the trees had provided meagre protection from the downpour at best, and had grown even sparser as she reached their edge. Before her lay the human city. The buildings were tall, and tightly packed, and appeared to divert into many small streets and alleys – much more promising. But she knew that would involve enormous risks of her own. Peridot had no doubt that even in her weakened state she’d be more than a match for any human who spotted her, but exposure really was far too much trouble to be risked. And so, at a loss, she fretted, wondering what to do. But as the rain began to strengthen, Peridot bitterly noted she had little choice, and ran for the city, cursing.


	2. Julia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Somebody meets Peridot.

Julia looked up and wrinkled her nose. It was starting to rain. 

She dithered for a moment, wondering if it’d be best to try to run to her apartment before the downpour began in earnest or to wait in the university library and wait for it to pass. She decided she’d rather get home and be warm and dry as soon as possible. Juggling education and work had been doable in her first year, but had become nightmarish as the workload had piled up, and spending more time on campus than was necessary had been leaving a bad taste in her mouth. And it was a mercifully short walk home. So, giving the puddles before her a grim look, she tucked her more expensive books beneath her coat and dashed from under cover.

As she ran, Julia gave a small smile. In truth, this was just the sort of weather she liked – she’d just been caught at the end of a bad day. But she felt her built-up stress melt away into the cool air, and loved the swollen feeling it gave her in her chest. It wasn’t exactly enough to let her forget her nearly-failed essay, or the unit she was on the brink of giving up entirely on, but at least the rain was refreshing. The student running home in the beginnings of a storm might cut the woeful picture, she thought, but it certainly beat being dry and fretful. Besides, she liked the way her hair looked wet. Densely coiled ringlets suited her.

By the time she arrived at her front door, breathlessly fishing for her keys through her damp pockets, the rain had truly begun to pour. And as much as she might have proudly considered herself a winter child, that was no business she wanted to be caught up in outside, and she’d started shivering. So, after uselessly trying to brush loose droplets from her arms and legs, she stepped into her dark apartment, sighing. Her elation had quickly begun to fade, and she dropped the bag she’d only minutes ago been carefully trying to keep dry carelessly on a chair by the door. It was difficult to care about things like that when all she really wanted was a cup of tea and an early night in preparation for her seven o’clock shift tomorrow. It was only when the kettle was boiling and she’d set about drying her hair did it occur to her that she’d seen something new on her hasty trip home. There’d been something different on her usually unremarkable route, tucked away in an alley. But she was in no mood to wrack her mind thinking of what. So she made her tea, dipping the peppermint bag into the water for only a few seconds, and resigned herself to another uneventful night.

 

***

 

Having lost her makeshift foot during her scramble on the wet ground for cover, Peridot found navigating the rough footing in the human city more difficult than she’d anticipated, and regretted her choice. It’d have been easier if she were able to simply use the main streets and lanes, which appeared to be flat as any Homeworld road, but she restricted herself only to the most remote passages which seemed as though they were rarely used – which of course were the ones with the most uneven ground, littered with rubbish and stones. Peridot grimly wondered if that was a reassuring sign that humans did indeed rarely cross the paths she’d chosen, or simply a sign that humans were disgracefully lazy. But she wasn’t able to spare it much thought – as safe as her pathfinding was appearing to be, the venture was causing her nerves to be much more highly strung than it would have a month or two ago, and Peridot feared a human around every corner. At last, she found a nook that seemed acceptable – between two stacks of boxes and beneath an overhanging roof, it was dry enough, and even more importantly, it was tucked away out of sight. Peridot grimaced as she scanned the dirt and trash that littered her chosen spot, and she cleaned it as best as she could before a clap of thunder sent her huddling down as quick as she could. Rain was nothing new to her, unfortunately, but this sound seemed to her to be straight out of a nightmare. Or a battle. Whatever it was, it was another thing to be afraid of. 

Finding some sort of blanket, Peridot dragged it over herself, ignoring its ill-smelling, coarse material, and watched the rain fall. Occasionally a burst of thunder would course her to jump, and at one point a human splashed by her alleyway, causing her to tense, but they’d only splashed by, and Peridot was grateful to human narrow-sightedness. Sitting in her meagre shelter, and with nothing more to do, she idly formed her screen, and began her attempts to contact her team or home planet that had become routine over the past weeks. And, as always, all failed. Peridot didn’t know if she really believed she’d ever be answered.

Finally, Peridot dipped her fingers into the hidden compartment in her chest, and pulled out the shard of her gem. It was a tiny, flat thing, with a rough edge and smooth sides. Night had well and truly fallen, and Peridot spent the hours watching it glow dimly, lighting her fingers and colouring any droplets that fell closely green.

 

***

 

Julia rose early the next day. Upon waking, while she was still lying in bed, she suddenly remembered what it was she had seen last night. She’d seen a person, crouched in the dark in the narrow street by her apartment block.

Or she thought she had, anyway. She wasn’t in the mood to ponder mystery figures at five-thirty on a miserable morning. Julia was intent only on getting her shift done as painlessly as possible so that she’d be able to enjoy the rest of her weekend in peace, so she set the enigma mentally aside. And during her work, when she was forced to smile and service customers, there was indeed little time for pondering. When she had about half an hour before she clocked out, however, she remembered the shape she’d seen, and was somewhat distant for the rest of her shift. She decided she’d investigate later that day.

 

***

 

The rising sun brought only slight comfort to Peridot. She’d barely moved all night, and the rain had failed to exhaust itself. She occupied herself as best she could. She spent hours meticulously re-arranging her space, wriggling under her blanket, running the scans over her limbs that she’d run countless times before that week alone, examining her surroundings, mentally mapping out potential liabilities to her safety and escape routes. She took a while to examine Earth architecture, and to analyse the components in the pieces of brick and rubble she found. She hid when a human – she wasn’t sure, but she thought it was the same one from the day before – walked by her hiding place. Finally, with a sigh, she checked her hand screen. She’d been about to make another dispiriting call to Homeworld before she noticed her mission log. Its icon was blinking, reminding her that she’d failed to have made an entry that day. She absent-mindedly navigated over to it, only to do a double take.

It was empty. Well, nearly empty. She had barely made an entry since breaking her gem.

Peridot felt her stomach plummet. She’d always taken her missions with utter seriousness, down to the last detail. She was a professional, and nothing went un-noted in her journals. Even after her ship had been destroyed and she’d lost Jasper and Lazuli, she’d still carefully made her entries day by day, just as she always had, for when she’d eventually be picked up by Homeworld forces and brought home.

Home. Ever since being stranded, she’d distantly believed that eventually she’d be saved from this horrid rock and return to life as a Peridot technician and scout, no matter how many disasters she endured here. But she’d never imagined how or when. That she’d forgotten to make her mission log entries forced her to realise one thing – consciously or not, she’d given up on ever returning home.

As the realisation crashed on her, and she was washed with newfound hopelessness and shame, Peridot could not stop herself from beginning to cry. The rain sounded like white noise against the concrete ground. She felt worse than she ever had since coming to Earth. She brought her mismatched legs closer to her body and covered her face with the seven fingers she had left, and wept for her broken body and the life she had lost.

She didn’t know how long she had spent curled up like that before she was abruptly seized with alarm. Even in her most distraught state, she was alert, and had the unshakeable feeling of unease. She jerked her head out of her hands and looked around. She saw what was wrong instantly, and was filled with panic before her mind came to a halt. There was a human some distance away, and they looked as though they were peering right at her. Peridot was filled with panic and her mind came to a halt. 

 

***

 

Julia looked down the alleyway she thought she’d seen the figure in the other night and confirmed her suspicion. She also realised why she’d been able to see the tightly huddled figure in the dark at all – they were dressed very strangely, all in shades of green, and in peculiar, bulky clothes. She couldn’t see their face, but thought she heard crying. Abruptly overcome by awkwardness, she looked away, not wishing to be rude by staring. But she’d come here to check if there really was anyone living in the streets by her home, and to offer help if there was. So she swallowed and tightened her grip on her clear plastic umbrella, and began to walk down the path. But the stranger seemed to react fearfully, and huddled further into the wall. Julia stopped.

“Um,” she said. “Hello. Are you alright?” she thought for a moment, then added “My name’s Julia.”

The stranger didn’t answer, and Julia quickly realised that something was very – well – off about their appearance. She should have been frightened, and backed off then, but something compelled her to take more steps forward. She spotted the joints in their legs and arms, and, after a moment, a leg that ended without a foot, revealing raw machinery. She knew that this was unlike any technology she’d ever seen. Her eyes widened further as they travelled upwards, taking in green skin, and huge, detached fingers. She saw a cracked yellow visor obscuring the creature’s eyes and a beautiful green gem in their forehead. 

As fate would have it, Julia’s mind was working slowly that day, and it took several seconds for the word ‘alien’ to enter her mind. She felt light-headed, and, not knowing how to react, she took another step forward.

“Stay away.” The creature had a feminine voice. Julia suddenly saw the eyes behind the visor, glaring up at her.

“Are you-“

“Stay back, human!” rasped the alien creature. It lifted its strange hand. Its four fingers separated oddly until they were pointed at Julia in a cone, or an arrowhead. It took her a moment to realise she was looking at a weapon. She took a step back, her mind still failing to process exactly what was happening.

“You- you’re…”

“I said get back!” 

Suddenly a point of light formed in the alien’s hand, which quickly grew into a roiling ball of green energy. The rain around it vaporised, and Julia could feel its heat. She was definitely looking at a weapon. The alien glared at her with bared teeth. But just as quickly as the laser formed, it fizzled out, and its hand clattered uselessly against the ground, smoking. The alien hissed and looked away. It sounded surprisingly human.

“Leave, human,” it said with laboured breath. “If you know what’s good for you.”

At last Julia came to her senses. She staggered backwards and ran, her umbrella slipping from her fingers. She ran the rest of the way home.


	3. Aftermath

She’d been seen.

Her mind was screaming. Do something!

Peridot stared at the human’s retreating back, breathing heavily. She knew that she’d been afraid of this moment since setting foot in this miserable city. And she knew that she had only seconds in which to act. She hissed in exertion and again tried to form her hand cannon, aiming as best she could as the human fled. Her fingers shook violently in place, and she struggled to maintain the building energy blast for only a few moments before she dropped her arm once more, exhausted. She could only watch as the human splashed away before stumbling around a corner, and listen as the sound of its footsteps quickly died. She was alone, and the hiss of rain quickly rushed to fill the stillness. 

Her second attempt to fire her cannon had left her spent, but Peridot knew that to stay put would be madness. She knew that with a small exception, the existence of Gems was a secret to this planet. She’d seen the look of fear on that human. How long before more came? Peridot was in a far more weakened state than she had believed, and she wasn’t sure that she could survive an armed human horde. She knew she had to flee, and hide, and so she began to struggle to her feet.

Something made her pause.

It wasn’t a submissive stroke of fatalism, it wasn’t an ice-cold ‘why bother?’ moment, but something made Peridot slowly lean back against the brick wall and slide downwards. She came to the realisation that she no longer cared what happened to her. Her comrades had likely perished, and her superiors had forsaken her. One way or another, she was going to die on this strange, uncivilised planet, light years from home. What did it matter if it happened at the hands of traitorous gems, or humans? She closed her eyes, and waited for the sound of heavy footsteps, and humans calling to each other, searching for her.

None came.

She sat perfectly still, waiting and waiting, but there were no human voices. She listened intently, but there was no tell-tale siren or alarm that would betray the discovery of an infiltrator. She stared into the gloom, but saw no human guards searching. She wondered if they were setting a trap, and shrank further into her nest, refusing to breathe. It was only when hours passed that she accepted what seemed to be the reality she hadn’t even thought of – that no one was coming.

Peridot frowned, and tried to think. She’d never even considered this eventuality. How could it be? She’d been seen, hadn’t she? Not only was she a hostile deep within enemy territory, she was of an entirely different race, hitherto never even sighted! How could anyone let that go unannounced, let alone anything with as little knowledge of the universe as a human?

She tried to remember the details of the incident. The human had tried to talk to her, and it hadn’t made threats. No, mused Peridot, it had even asked if she was alright, and told her its name. ‘Jewel-ia’. What had possessed it to do that?

One way or another, it was becoming increasingly evident to Peridot that this human seemed to be non-violent. Maybe it hadn’t told anyone, either.

Such carelessness, thought Peridot absent-mindedly. A crystal gem on Homeworld wouldn’t have survived for thirty minutes after being found out. How had humans even come this far?

That meant her situation was – for the meantime – unchanged.  
Peridot wondered if that was the first stroke of good luck she’d had since coming to Earth, or just another misfortune.

 

***

 

Julia practically tore into her apartment, hyperventilating as she fumbled with her keys to lock the door behind her. She had barely come to terms with what had just happened. 

She had met an alien. 

She was certain of that. It wasn’t some weirdo in a costume. She remembered the floating fingers, the bright gem embedded in its forehead, and the cybernetic limbs, and shook harder.

And it had tried to shoot her. When it pointed its hand at her, it had crackled with green energy and filled the air with the smell of ozone, and she had been paralysed with fear. She was sure she was about to be on the receiving end of – whatever that was.

But she hadn’t been. The alien had changed its mind, and sent its weapon away before telling her to leave. That calmed her, if only a little. Maybe it wasn’t violent, and was only scared.

Julia frowned. Maybe that wasn’t the reason. She felt as though she was overlooking something important.

Then, slowly, she remembered the dented limbs, the leg that stopped short of the other, and the spider web cracks that ran through the creature’s plating. Its visor was damaged, and the gemstone on its face had been missing a piece.  
She hadn’t registered the fact before, but it also seemed to be missing several fingers. That’s why it looked odd when it pointed at her. And maybe that was why it didn’t shoot – because it seemed to be in pain. The creature was obviously injured.

She tried to find this comforting.

She knew that she was being strangely calm. She had just come face to face with an extra-terrestrial – one that had almost certainly tried to attack her. She should have been in a blind panic. But while she certainly was frightened, as the adrenaline wore off, she began to notice an overwhelming curiosity about this strange creature living behind her apartment complex. Maybe it was because for the first time in her dull life she’d come face to face with something truly exciting, something dangerous, or maybe she’d just felt as though her week couldn’t possibly get any worse. But she needed to know more. She blew out a strained laugh – she had just escaped being shot by an alien, and her first thought was to be curious. Her mother had always said to her that she’d always been too curious for anyone’s good. The thought made her smile. 

Her mother!

She thought of her family, back at home – her mother and younger sister. Wondering why she hadn’t thought of them sooner, she felt around for her phone. She’d be able to tell them about this, and maybe then they’d know what to do. It was only as she’d begun typing in their telephone number that she realised the small flaw in her plan.

Why on earth would they believe her?

She’d always been prone to flights of fancy. Her mother would scold her for pulling jokes when examinations were around the corner. And even though her sister was always on Julia’s side, claims of an alien living behind the apartment were probably stretching it.

She wondered about phoning the police, but dismissed that idea even more quickly. There was no way they’d take her seriously. She’d probably just be slapped with a fine for wasting an officer’s time. So what could she do?

She opened her fridge, looking for a drink.

She needed to think.


	4. An Offering

Julia pulled a few ciders out of the fridge. She wasn’t much of a drinker, but right now she needed something to calm her nerves. She opened a bottle, collapsed in a chair, and took a long drink, making a face at its taste. She breathed deeply, and thought she could feel her heart rate begin to calm. 

What should I do? She thought. 

Briefly she entertained the notion of doing nothing. She’d go to bed, and wake up pretending the whole affair had been a vivid dream. She’d go about her life as though she’d never met a strange green creature behind her home.

No, that wouldn’t do. There was no room in her impish nature for something so incredible to happen only for her to imagine it hadn’t. That simply wasn’t who she was. There was no way she’d be content going about her mundane life while an alien hid in her back yard.

She gave a small smile. The alien in her back yard. That was like poetry. She had always been a poetic. 

Julia took another long drink, and then frowned. What’s going to happen to it?

She realised she was worried about the alien.

She wondered it that should make her feel foolish – it had attacked her, after all. But that wasn’t quite right. It was doubtless afraid, and only acting out of self-defence. Julia had known since a child that if you find a wild snake, it’ll always be more afraid of you than you are of it.

Is this the same thing? 

The alien was injured – that much she was sure of. It was missing a foot and some fingers, and had dents and cracks on its body. It was obviously in a weakened state. The idea of her being less frightened of the alien than the alien was of her was making more and more sense. 

Could I try to help? 

She knew the idea ought to be absurd, but it had taken hold, and she couldn’t shake it out of her head. Looking at it another way, there was an injured person without a home living nearby. Alien or not, how could she not at least investigate, and see if she could do anything? 

That settles it, then. Perhaps it was the cider having its effect, but she felt determined. I’m going back.

She went to bed full of plans of what to do the next day, wondering what she could say, what she should do, before eventually falling asleep.

*

Peridot spent the night thinking about her encounter. She wondered if the human would come back. There was nothing stopping it from changing its mind and bringing the whole town down on her. The night deepened, then turned into day, and still Peridot was alone. 

It didn’t last, though. 

It was around early afternoon when it happened. The rain, which had been mercifully sporadic during the night, had returned with a vengeance. The humans that passed by her alley would run, hoping to outrun the storm, and she would hold her breath with nervousness until they had gone out of sight. A human stepped in front of the alley – and stopped. It was looking right at her. 

Peridot panicked. It was the human from before. What did it want? 

The human – Jewel-ia – had its arms full. In one hand was the same bowl-like device on a handle it had been holding the day before. She had thought it was a weapon, but Peridot realised it was likely a tool to protect humans from the rain. The other hand held a bag. She couldn’t guess its contents. She tried to study its face instead. It looked afraid – but determined. It began to walk towards her. 

Peridot considered trying to form her cannon again, but knew it’d only lead to exhaustion. She was defenceless. What do you want? She thought. Get it over with, then!

Jewel-ia stopped a few metres away. 

“You – you really are an alien, aren’t you?” 

Peridot wanted to say something biting in return, but couldn’t bring herself to. Did it want confirmation before exterminating her? She sighed, and glared up at the human. 

“Yes.”

The human swallowed, and began taking something out of her bag. 

This is it, thought Peridot. She close her eyes. Make it quick. But she was afraid. What did the human have in store for her?

“I’ve brought you something to eat.”

What? 

Peridot opened her eyes. The human was taking some organic products out of the bag. They looked like fruit. It was starting to babble. 

“I’m sorry, I don’t know what you – what you eat, so I just got some basic things, like apples… I mean, I thought you might not have eaten for a while, so I thought I’d…”

“I don’t want it!”

Jewel-ia froze and stared at her with an open mouth. Peridot rolled her eyes. It’s for real, isn’t it? 

“What do you want from me, human? If you want to finish me off, then get on with it!”

“I just – I thought you might be hungry…”

“I told you,” hissed Peridot. “I don’t want it.”

“Oh… Okay…” It sounded discouraged. Finally. “You don’t eat apples. Sorry. But – but I can be back tomorrow, and…”

“Why won’t you leave me alone…” Peridot tried to use the human’s name. Maybe that would make it leave. It sounded strange to say aloud. “…Jewel-ia?”

But the human seemed to brighten. “You remember my name! What’s your name?”

Ugh. “It’s Peridot.” Immediately, Peridot wanted to slap herself. Why had she done that?

“Peridot…” The human paused, as though wracking its mind. “That’s a gemstone, isn’t it? It, um, it suits you.”

“Are you done? I told you to leave!”

“Won’t you at least let me give you my umbrella?”

Peridot frowned. What? 

Jewel-ia knelt down, and held out the thing in her hand. Umbrella. Peridot stared at it, then back at Jewel-ia.

“Come on,” it said. “Quickly. I’m getting wet.”

Peridot reached for it tentatively, regarding her with suspicion. She took the umbrella feeling somewhat as though her world had begun to turn upside-down. Jewel-ia smiled, then looked uncertain. Did a human just try to help me, for no reason at all?

“Thank you.” Peridot tried to say its awkward name again. “Jewel-ia.”

“It’s – never mind. Listen… Peridot, I’ll be back tomorrow. I’ll try to find something else you like. ‘Bye!”

And then Jewel-ia turned and ran out of the alley, using its arms to protect itself from the rain. 

Peridot stared after it – she supposed she ought to call it ‘she’, now. She wanted to ask ‘why?’ Why help me? What do you want? 

She didn’t feel like Jewel-ia was trying to trick her. She couldn’t be sure, but her gift – and attempt at an offering of food – seemed to be a simple act of kindness.

Peridot looked at the umbrella in her hands, and held it above her head, the way she had seen Jewel-ia do. It was loud against the rain, but for the first time she was completely under cover. She listened to the sound of the rain against her umbrella, and decided it was calming.

“Jewel-ia…”


	5. Peridot Eats a Chip

Jewel-ia came back the next day.

Peridot remained huddled under her umbrella, right where she’d been left. The rain had mellowed from a downpour into a light shower that would stop and start, but Peridot was still grateful for the protection she’d been given, albeit suspicious of it as well.

It was nearing mid afternoon when the rain let up entirely and the sun pierced the clouds for the first time in days when she came. Being able to expect her this time, Peridot studied her as she approached. She was walking with a jitter, and her own umbrella hung folded at her side, flicking raindrops as it bumped her hip. In her other hand she was holding a brown paper bag, marked with what Peridot assumed to be some human heraldic device. What could that be?

Eventually, she slowed as she neared, and Peridot glared. She might have re-evaluated her opinion of the human, but she still had no intention of being friendly. 

Jewel-ia shuffled her feet. She’d looked nervous enough as she approached, but now that they were again face-to-face all confidence seemed to have left her.

“Um," she said breathlessly. “I’m back.”

Peridot realised she was waiting for a reaction. 

“Clearly.”

Jewel-ia’s face seemed to fall, and Peridot thought she felt a twinge in her chest. Surely not guilt.

“Well… yeah! I know that you don’t, um, that you don’t like apples, and I still don’t know what you do eat, so I thought I’d try something else… I just thought I’d get whatever I could find. It’s called ‘McDonald’s’, you might like it.”

What a ridiculous word. Peridot sighed. Clearly, Jewel-ia had misunderstood her when she said she didn’t want any food. She was already unwrapping the contents of the bag.

“Here,” she said, holding out something small and yellow. “This is called a ‘chip’. It’s made from potato and things.” Then, as an afterthought, “that’s a vegetable.”

Peridot eyed the ‘chip’. It smelled strongly. It wasn’t necessarily an unpleasant experience, but certainly one she was unused to. Reluctantly, she decided it’d be easier to give the hopeful-eyed human staring down at her what she wanted rather than try to explain that she had never eaten in her life and had never expected to.

Gingerly, she reached forward and tried to take it. It immediately slipped through her long fingers and tumbled onto the ground. 

“Oh.” Jewel-ia went red, and took another chip from the bag. “Careful.”

This time she managed to grasp it, holding it awkwardly between both hands. It was slippery, and her fingers weren’t as nimble as they once were due to damage and disuse. Getting it to her mouth felt like a victory.

Immediately a wealth of new sensations accosted her. The chip’s flavour stung the sides of her mouth, which responded by producing saliva. Peridot winced. It was slightly disgusting. 

Then she tried to chew. She’d never eaten before, but had seen enough gems do it on Homeworld – wealthy, highly regarded gems who could afford to waste time on frivolities. She remembered how their jaws would move, and tried to copy them. It was a lot more difficult than it had looked, and Peridot began to feel humiliated under the human’s fascinated gaze. She learned to push the food about with her tongue, and pulled face after face as its flavour sharpened and spread. Eventually she managed to swallow. The whole ordeal had taken at least a minute.

“Um.” Jewel-ia consciously swallowed, still staring. “Wow. I mean – how was that?”

Peridot made another face and poked out her tongue, trying to rid her mouth of the persistent flavour.

“It was not to my liking.”

Jewel-ia looked crestfallen. “Oh, no… I’m sorry. I thought – oh, never mind. I’ll go look for something else-“

This had gone on long enough, Peridot decided. “Jewel-ia, listen. Don’t do that.”

She looked up in surprise. “But – but, aren’t you hungry?” 

“I don’t get hungry.”

“But when’s the last time you ate?”

“I don’t eat.”

“That’s – that’s awful! How long… how long have you been living like that?” 

“You’re not understanding, human,” growled Peridot, slipping back into her old name for Jewel-ia in exasperation. “I don’t eat. Ever. I don’t need to.”

Jewel-ia opened and closed her mouth a few times, staring dumbfounded at Peridot. “You… don’t need to eat? Ever?”

Peridot sighed. “I am aware that the majority of life on Earth depends on nutritional support to survive. My body is supported by my gem. I don’t eat.”

“Wow. That’s… Wow.” Jewel-ia peered intently at your forehead. “Your energy comes from your gem?”

“To put it extremely simply.”

“But it’s broken.”

Peridot scowled and turned away. “It remains functional.”

Jewel-ia looked as though she was making to speak, before giving a small cough and looking away. Peridot was glad. She was in no mood to discuss her gem.

A short silence passed where Jewel-ia seemed to begin talking a few times before swallowing her words and clearing her throat. There seemed to be nothing more to say.

“Listen,” she said. “Um. Peridot. I need to go now. But I’ll be back tomorrow, if – if you don’t mind.”

Not for the first time, Peridot considered telling this human to leave her alone and let her have some peace and quiet. But she decided against it. Maybe she didn’t have the heart to after seeing the earnest look in her eyes as she gave away her umbrella. Or maybe it was because peace and quiet wasn’t as enjoyable to her as it used to be.

“If you must,” she said, but not particularly unkindly. Well, she thought so.

Jewel-ia brightened considerably, though. “Alright! Well – well, see you tomorrow, then!”

Then she was off, walking perhaps more quickly than she needed to, her strangely smelling paper bag held awkwardly to her side.

Peridot spent the rest of the day trying vainly to get the smell of that human ‘chip’ off her fingers, but could have sworn it stuck to her metal digits even after washing them in a clear puddle of rainwater.


	6. That Finger on Your Temple is the Barrel of My Raygun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time passes, and both Peridot and Julia have things to learn.

The next day passed similarly for Peridot. Jewel-ia visited in Peridot the little home she’d made for herself, and they talked – Peridot guardedly, and Jewel-ia with enthusiasm. She hadn’t given up on finding something that Peridot might like to eat, either. Following the ‘chip’ incident, she had brought a brown bar of what she had called ‘chocolate’. It had seemed promising to Peridot; compact, inoffensive, and quite sensibly sealed in a small package, but after trying to eat the ridiculously chewy thing she had felt so betrayed and humiliated that she had refused to talk to Jewel-ia until the next day. 

Jewel-ia seemed to start understanding Peridot’s eating preferences after that, and brought a plastic cup full of sweet smelling ‘tea’ on her next visit. She explained that tea could be hot or cold, and could taste like all sorts of things. The tea she had brought that day was cold. It was pleasingly easy to consume, and had a pleasant flavour. Peridot finished the cup, and Jewel-ia brightened considerably.

She didn’t come at all the next day. Peridot waited and waited, and only decided that she probably wasn’t coming at all until well past her usual hours, when the sky was darkening. She wondered why. Had she finally scared the silly little human away?

Peridot didn’t mind, of course. She told herself she was enjoying the peace and quiet. But she couldn’t quite stop jerking her head upwards hopefully each time she thought she heard footsteps.

Jewel-ia came back the day after, and was full of apologies. She explained that it was a busy time of year for her. She was working a lot lately, and her education demanded a lot of her time. Peridot didn’t understand a lot of it, but she decided to forgive her anyway.

Days turned into weeks, and Jewel-ia visited as often as she could.

Peridot began to learn her schedule, and would wait expectantly for her.

She learned some other things about the human, too. She learned that she had been mispronouncing her name for all this time, and that it was spelt ‘Julia’. It had happened when Julia looked at her curiously one day after Peridot had addressed her, and asked why she said her name that way. Julia had laughed out loud when she figured it out, and told her that her name wasn’t about jewels at all. Peridot had thought her assumption had made perfect sense, and had irritably asked how she was supposed to know.

And that wasn’t all. One day, when she had asked where Julia was on days when she didn’t visit, she had learned about her job. She was surprised at the embarrassment in Julia’s voice when she spoke about how she stood and packaged food for customers in markets all day. It had sounded like a worthy occupation to Peridot. 

“Humans need food to survive, don’t they?” she had asked awkwardly, as though posing an obvious question to a toddler. “On my planet, some Gems are in charge of growing new Gems, and ensuring their correct resources and conditions. It is necessary.” 

Julia had seemed startled, and smiled. She had said she had never thought of it that way.

Weeks went by. Peridot was beginning to look forward to Julia’s visits.

Reluctantly, little by little, Peridot started to open up to the human, too, who finally learned a little about her strange neighbour. She learned about gems, and about what Peridot’s body was made of. She learned that Gems were able to retreat into their gem in order to regenerate their physical form if it became significantly damaged. 

“Except Peridots,” she’d been told. “We are an exception. A flaw in our design causes each Peridot to be able to regenerate only once – then, a new Peridot is born from the same gem. She has none of her old memories. Technicians call it a ‘full reset’. Obviously, this means my generation of Peridot should only retreat into their gems when there is no other alternative.”

Peridot tried to hide it, but as the weeks went by, it seemed that her gem had continued to degenerate – its cracks seemed to widen, little by little, and it seemed less lustrous, though that could have been Julia’s imagination. Eventually she summoned the courage to bring it up, and she learned that Peridot was dying. 

Peridot was aghast (and more than a little confused) when Julia began to cry. She berated herself for forgetting what silly emotional creatures humans were, and amended her statement. Not quite dying, she said. Only decreased chances of survival. Living with a broken gem was not unheard of, especially when care was taken not to exacerbate the damage. She told Julia to think of it as similar to a biological organism falling ill. Death was possible, not inevitable.

It was not an apt analogy by any means, but it seemed to do the trick. She wondered why Julia cared so much in the first place.

Weeks turned into months. Peridot began to miss Julia when she wasn’t there.

Eventually, however, Julia finally worked up the nerve to ask the question she didn’t know Peridot had been dreading having to answer.

“So… how did you come to Earth, anyway?”

Peridot froze, and tried to sidestep what she knew was being asked. She launched into a technical explanation of Gem designed space travel before Julia shushed her.

“That’s not what I meant. I meant – why did you come? How did you end up… here?”

Peridot nearly panicked. She knew that the mission that had brought her to Earth was one of top secrecy. Strangely, though, that wasn’t why she found herself racing to think of an answer.

“I was sent here as a scout,” she said brusquely. “Our mission was to locate planets capable of sustaining Gem growth. It was essential.”

“Oh… ‘our’?”

Peridot cursed inwardly, and realised she’d need to reveal more than she had hoped.

“I was not sent alone. There were two others. An escort and an informant. A standard group for this kind of mission.”

Julia peered at her thoughtfully. “Where are they now?”

“They’re dead.” Probably.

“What?” spluttered Julia. “I’m so sorry, I – how –“

“They knew the risks,” interrupted Peridot. “We were not friends.” And they brought it upon themselves. If they’d only listened…

“But how? What happened? How did you end up – like this?”

Peridot pondered on how to respond for so long that Julia began to wonder if she was going to answer at all.

“We were sabotaged by a group of radicals. They had established their base on Earth. I was the only one able to escape.”

“Does that – does that mean they’re still chasing you?”

Did it? Peridot didn’t know the answer anymore. How far did the Crystal Gems’ spite extend? Would they still be hunting her? It had been so long since she’d hidden in this city, and she’d grown used to the assumption that they’d either given up on her, or considered her threat neutralised. Or had it been a long time at all? Adapting to Earth time was disorienting…

Peridot realised she’d been silent too long again.

“It is not unlikely.”

“And you ran away, to… here?”

“Correct.”

“What would they do… if they found you?” Julia looked troubled.

Peridot smiled thinly.

“Things would become very ugly.”

“Does that mean… you can’t stay here?”

“I’ve been resigned to my fate since I set foot in here. I’m no longer in any state to fight or run. Hiding is my only option. It is fortunate that they seem to be on the wrong track, but they’ll come to this city eventually, I’m certain of it. And then they’ll kill me.” Or worse.

Julia twisted her hands. “You could… I mean, if you liked, you… you could stay… with me, for a while?”

Peridot squinted at her in suspicion and disbelief. “What?”

“I mean, you’ve been living behind my house for months, now… and if someone’s looking for you then it’d be much safer to stay inside. I live alone, so there’s plenty of space, as long as we hide you from the landlord… And – and I’d be able to see you on days where I’m too busy to visit, and… it might be… well, it might be nice to have company.”

The last remark took Peridot by surprise. She opened her mouth to refuse, but unwillingly forced herself to consider the proposal. She really was tired of living in this cramped little alleyway. And she had to admit that somewhere indoors would be a far more ideal place to hide…

And maybe she’d enjoy the company, too.

“I will think about it. But I appreciate the offer.”

Julia looked at her in surprise, and smiled.


	7. What We Love

_“Stay with me for a while?”_

The offer had taken Peridot entirely off guard. She was so shocked she had almost shouted a resounding ‘no’ right away. Who did this human think she was? 

Peridot spent the rest of the afternoon thinking. She wanted to stop living in the rain, of course. But why had Julia said that? What did she possibly have to gain? No one would simply offer their home to someone else without reason. But as hard as she thought, she couldn’t think of one. She was very displeased.

_What if this is a trap?_

It was possible, she supposed. Julia might have finally grown tired of using her as a curiosity. Or perhaps it had all been an act after all, and humans were crueller creatures than Peridot had judged. 

_Is that likely?_

Peridot had to admit that it wasn’t. In the months where she had known Julia, she had been studying her intently – first out of suspicion, then out of fascination. And then – out of something quite different. Peridot had had no idea what to make of it. She missed Julia when she wasn’t around, but didn’t know how to process what it was she felt when she was around. She was glad to see her when she arrived, but was unaccustomed to the ache she felt watching her leave.

It was extremely irritating, of course. Peridot hated experiences she wasn’t able to articulate. But now…

_Are we… friends?_

Peridot had made few friends in her life. It wasn’t that she was particularly unfriendly, or didn’t value other people. She had simply rarely found the time. Companionship exhausted her, and in her line of work, she couldn’t afford to waste the time that maintaining connections with other Gems demanded. 

Of course there were exceptions. There may have been more sociable jobs than scouting and lab work, but interactions with her fellow Peridots in the workplace were unavoidable. And all they really had to pass their free time with were each other. Long ago, there were a handful of Peridots who’s company she looked forward to.

One got relocated to the other side of the planet. One had been promoted, and she had never seen her again. One disappeared without a trace, gem and all. Even her files had been deleted. 

Another Peridot’s cybernetic limbs malfunctioned in an incident that had been impossible to predict. It had been a prototype – a test model. Peridot hadn’t witnessed the accident first hand, but when she and the others had gone to investigate the noise, all that had remained of her friend was a damaged – but whole – gem. 

It was this Peridot, who looked at her without a trace of recognition once her body reformed, that convinced her that friendship wasn’t worth it. She had known about ‘full resets’. But it didn’t make it easier.

It was after this that Peridot stopped bothering. Friendships took time, and investment, and effort. Friends were easily lost. Why divide your concentration? Why be inefficient? She rarely missed her friends anymore. A few thousand years to concentrate on your work helped with that.

So how had she grown so attached to someone, let alone a human, in a matter of months?

_Why?_

Peridot’s friendships had been out of convenience, necessity, and mutual benefit. Her – relationship – with Julia consisted of none of these. Julia’s actions had confused her right from the beginning. Why keep visiting her? Why try to help? She had nothing to gain from Peridot.

_“Stay with me for a while?”_

No, Peridot couldn’t find a logical reason for Julia to make that offer. But Julia had never behaved logically towards her in the first place.

_Do I have a choice?_

Peridot realised she had made her choice long ago. By agreeing to see Julia again, she had made her choice. By allowing herself to grow close to her, she had made her choice.

Doubting Julia hadn’t been an option for a long time. Because, somehow, despite all her experience, despite all her defences, this peculiar human had become all she had.

Besides, it was hard to imagine the worst of someone who introduced you to that wonderful tea.

***  
_Why the hell did I do that?_

It wasn’t something she had thought up on the spot. Julia had been wondering about Peridot living with her for a while now. She hadn’t been planning for it, only daydreaming, thinking it could be nice. Everyone wonders what it would be like to live with their friend, don’t they?

But the information she had just learned – that Peridot was being chased, by the people who had hurt her – that was new. She needed to do something, and had offered without thinking.

She didn’t exactly regret it. If a friend of hers were in trouble and on the streets, she’d have made the same offer in a heartbeat.

But it was a slightly different matter when that ‘friend’ was an alien cyborg person.

Were they even friends? Peridot had tried to kill her when they first met. She’d softened since then, of course, but would she really trust Julia enough to live with her? Should _she_ even trust _her?_

Julia trusted her.

She knew that was probably naïve. How many movies had she heard of where the aliens act friendly at first, again?

But she’d never been a very rational person. She just had a feeling that anyone who got so adorably flustered trying to eat a piece of chocolate had to have a certain pureness in their heart. 

And there was the fact that she didn’t have many people in her life at the moment. She hadn’t kept many friends from high-school, and hadn’t made any new ones since. It could get pretty depressing, having nobody to talk to in your classes, then going home to an empty apartment. She hadn’t lied when she said she’d like the company.

But that didn’t mean that what she had just done should be taken lightly. The situation had a gravity she couldn’t ignore. What if Peridot was found? What if anyone discovered she was hiding an alien in her apartment? She couldn’t even begin to conceive the trouble she’d be in.

The only thing was, it wasn’t her she was worried about in that scenario. It was Peridot. 

_What would she do without me?_

If she let Peridot into her home, and they were caught, she’d probably be taken away. But it was safer in her home. If she hadn’t made the offer, and someone walked down that alleyway, Julia would have been able to get away with everything – but she wouldn’t have done everything she could to protect Peridot.

_What would I do without her?_

Peridot was the only person she really spoke to regularly. She looked forward to visiting, and always enjoyed picking out a snack or a flavor of tea to bring her. She felt as though her life had a point again. As surreal as the idea was, she’d done more than become accustomed to knowing an alien – she could barely remember what life had been like until then.

She really did care about Peridot.

_She’s my friend._

The more she thought it, the happier she was. It didn’t matter how different they were. She loved spending time with Peridot; she loved the way she reacted to a new food, how she was fascinated by the most unexpected things, and her nasal little laugh. She was absolutely a friend. Even if she was a thousand year old alien.

_What if she says no?_

Julia froze.

_How did I not even think of that?_

She’d been so deep in thought about her own feelings about Peridot moving in that she hadn’t considered the fact that Peridot might not even want to.

That wasn’t a pleasant thought. Had she been overreacting? 

_She might not even care as much as I do._

That wasn’t a pleasant thought at all. How presumptuous she had been!

_I’m just desperate for friends, but she isn’t. She’d have been just as happy to be left alone._

_But she said she ‘appreciated the offer’, didn’t she?_

Julia rubbed her eyes. She was unhappy, and had only confused herself. It was too late for this. She needed to sleep. Tomorrow morning, she’d visit Peridot again, and see if she had made a decision.

Or would that be too soon? Would she feel like she was being rushed?

_Ugh._

Julia turned off the lights, and lay in bed, but didn’t close her eyes.


	8. Feels Like Spring Again

Peridot spent all night rehearsing what she’d say when she next saw Julia. First, she’d set the tone of the conversation with the perfect greeting. She’d cleverly bring up the talk they’d had the other night, and mention the proposal Julia had made – in an offhand sort of way, of course. She didn’t want to look needy. Then, she’d list the pros and cons of her either accepting or declining, and briefly share her analysis. Finally, she’d deliver the conclusion – a gracious acknowledgment that Julia’s plan provided the most advantage, and that Peridot reluctantly accepted. Strictly for the sake of optimising.

It never occurred to Peridot that she might not need to argue her point so carefully, seeing as it was Julia who actually made the offer. All she knew was that it was the perfect plan. After finalising her lines and muttering them aloud, she got so excited that she tried drawing a little flowchart in the dust that illustrated her argument. _Perfect!_

The sun rose, and Peridot began to get bored. Her good mood dampened. _What if she’s changed her mind? What if I just misunderstood the entire thing? This could just be a… a human thing!_

The sooner she saw Julia, the sooner it’d all be sorted out. But despite how impatiently she waited, she panicked when she finally saw Julia hurrying awkwardly towards her.

_What! Already?_

Peridot tried to remember her prompts, but came up with nothing. Fortunately, Julia spoke first.

“Hi, morning!” she said brightly. “Um, I mean, good morning, Peridot!”

That was unusual. Peridot squinted. “What did you say?”

“Nothing!” Julia reddened. “I just – had kind of a late night last night. I’m a bit tired.”

Peridot narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. _Julia seems to be breathing shallowly. The temperature is cold, yet she’s perspiring significantly. She’s talking loudly, she’s paying even less attention to her syntax than usual… and is that an increased heart rate? Those aren’t her usual symptoms of tiredness at all. That’s…_

“Are you nervous?” asked Peridot in confusion.

Julia sagged. “What have I told you about doing that?” she admonished. 

“Oh,” said Peridot. “Sorry.” Julia didn’t like it when Peridot read her cues like that. 

“Still, now that you’ve asked,” said Julia sheepishly, “I am a bit nervous. I was actually going through how to greet you on my way here. Then I got all mixed up and tried to say ‘good morning’ and ‘hi, Peridot’ at the same time.”

That was adorable, but Peridot remained puzzled nonetheless. “Why?”

Julia gave her a startled look. “I kind of asked you to move in last night, remember?”

That made a surprising amount of sense. Peridot had been too wrapped up in her own nerves for it to occur to her that Julia might be feeling the same way. 

“You didn’t forget, did you?” asked Julia worriedly.

“No!” She almost had forgotten for a moment, there, but she wasn’t going to let Julia know that.

Julia was looking apprehensive. “So… have you done any thinking about… about that?”

“Yes!” shouted Peridot. She was finding it very difficult to think. Was she blushing? For Diamond’s sake, why was she blushing?

“Right! So, um, what did you…”

“I’ve made up my mind!”

“That’s… great?” 

Peridot blustered for a few moments, and then sighed. “I am somewhat nervous as well,” she admitted.

“Really?” Julia was starting to giggle, and Peridot laughed uncertainly along. It was kind of funny, wasn’t it?

A few comfortable moments passed in that way until Peridot realised she hadn’t actually answered. “Julia!” she said, trying to sound impassive. “After much – _analysis_ , I have come to the decision that your proposed course of action would be… beneficial.” She swallowed. “I accept.”

Julia gave a huge grin. “That’s wonderful! To be honest, I was a bit worried there, but… wait, what are you doing?”

Peridot had begun rising stiffly to her feet. “I’m standing, of course. We are heading to your home, are we not?” She glared. “You haven’t changed your mind, have you?” 

“What? No, no, of course not, but – oh, Peridot, I’m sorry. I should have mentioned this before. I can’t move you in until tonight. There’ll be too many people around during the day, and you’ll be seen for sure. We have to wait until it gets dark.”

“Oh.” Peridot grumpily sat back down. “That is reasonable.”

“I’m really sorry, Peridot,” said Julia unhappily. “I want to get you inside as soon as possible, too.” She brightened. “But starting from tonight, you’ll be living with me! That’ll make us roommates!”

“Roommates?”

“Yeah! I’ve been doing some preparation already.” She blushed. “I was really hoping you’d say yes, okay? Anyway, I have a couch you can sleep on. It’s really comfy. You’re a bit tall, but you should fit.”

“If this ‘couch’ is as good as you say it is, I’m certain it will be an improvement to here.”

“Right! This is kind of exciting. I’ve sort of always wanted a roommate. We’ll make so much tea, and we’ll be able to stay up all night and talk about girls, and…”

“Julia,” interrupted Peridot. “Are you certain you are taking this seriously?”

“What? What do you mean?”

“I mean,” said Peridot reluctantly, “That you do not seem to be considering the ramifications of what your actions. I am grateful, for it, and… excited, as well. But you appear to be treating this as though you I were one of your human companions. This is different. There will be consequences if you are found with me.”

Julia seemed cowed, and Peridot felt a little guilty. “I guess you’re right,” she said glumly. “I haven’t really thought it through, have I? I never think anything through. But – but, hey, I didn’t really think meeting you through either. That first time, I mean. If I had, I might not have come.”

“You shouldn’t have. I tried to shoot you.”

“Yeah! But I’m really glad I did! I mean, look at us now. We’re friends, right?” 

Peridot scrunched her nose and tried not to blush again. “Correct.”

“So! That’s my point. I guess… I wasn’t really taking that as seriously as I should have. I never really take my own safety seriously, either. But – I had a good feeling about doing what I did, and it turns out I was right. And I have a good feeling about this, too. I just want to do the right thing, for… for both of us.” Julia was looking at her earnestly. 

For the thousandth time, Peridot wondered at what a peculiar, emotional, irrational companion she had found. This girl was willing to risk everything she had on a ‘good feeling’ – and for what? Friendship? 

Peridot was moved.

So, naturally, she scowled and rolled her eyes. 

“That is highly illogical.”

Julia grinned. “I know.”

 

***

 

Julia paced around her apartment, impatiently glancing out the window. Was it dark enough yet?

 _It’s time_ , she thought.

She grabbed her bag and set off from her apartment, taking the steps two at a time.

Peridot was right where she left her, of course. She looked up at Julia’s approach, and seemed relieved.

“About time,” she grumbled. “I was beginning to wonder if you were actually coming after all.”

“Don’t say that!” scolded Julia. “Of course I was coming. We just needed to wait until it was late enough, okay? We can’t take any chances. Now, quick, get up. We shouldn’t take too long.”

Peridot stood up shakily, using the wall to support herself.

“Are you okay?”

“What? Yes. Of course. I just haven’t – _ah_ – seen much physical activity lately.” She tried taking a step forward. “Now let’s – _woah!_ ”

Peridot toppled. Julia rushed forwards and caught her. They stared at each other for a moment.

“You’re lighter than I thought,” said Julia in surprise.

“Put me down, you clod.”

“What? Oh, right, of course.” Julia carefully helped Peridot back on her feet. “Um, when was the last time you… walked?” she asked anxiously.

“That would have been the day I arrived here.”

“What?” gasped Julia. “That was months ago! You mean you’ve been sitting in that exact spot since then?”

“Yes…?”

“I thought you were, like, moving around while I wasn’t here, or something.”

“That would have been an unnecessary risk!”

“Okay, okay. Well, um, at least you can stand. I can help you walk. Oh, here, wear this.”

Julia took a large, well-worn hoodie from her bag and handed it to Peridot, who held it suspiciously.

“One of your… appearance modifiers? Why?”

“It’ll disguise you in case anyone sees you. Quick, put it on.”

Peridot wriggled into the hoodie, working her hands through the sleeves with difficulty. 

“Here,” said Julia, “let me help.” 

She reached over and dragged the hood over Peridot’s eyes, and giggled when she saw her peering from behind the fabric like an angry cat.

“Why are you laughing?” asked Peridot sullenly.

“I’m – I’m sorry, Peri. You look great. But disguising your hands and head is the important thing. You can take it off once we’re inside. Now, come on, it’s just this way.”

Holding Peridot by the hand, Julia lead her to her apartment building and up the stairs, doing her best to stick to the shadows.

“We’re nearly there,” she whispered. “My room is pretty close to the staircase, so…”

Just as they reached her floor, they nearly bumped into a middle-aged woman walking straight towards them.

“Why, good evening, Julia!”

Julia forced a smile. “Hi, Mrs. Desmond.”

“Now, I’ve told you before, you can just call me Lisa! What are you doing out so late? Are you having a friend over?”

Peridot had froze. She turned her head away before Mrs. Desmond could get a good look at her.

“Yeah,” said Julia. “A friend. She’s very shy. Sorry. And, uh, very tired, so we really should get home…”

“Oh, of course, dear. And you’re very welcome to bring your friend and yourself over for tea whenever you like. Good night!”

“Thanks. ‘Night.”

Mrs. Desmond looked at Peridot curiously as she walked past. She was far too close for comfort. But she didn’t seem to notice anything. Still, neither of them moved until they heard her footsteps disappear up the stairs.

“That was way too close. Come on, let’s hurry.”

Julia was so relieved when she had finally locked the door behind them that she nearly collapsed. “Well… here we are.”

Peridot tore the hood from her face. “Who was that?” she hissed.

“That’s Mrs. Desmond,” sighed Julia. “She lives upstairs with her kid. She’s not really a bad person. She tries really hard to be friendly, inviting me over and asking me to call her ‘Lisa’… But I don’t really like her.”

“Neither do I.”

Julia gave a shaky giggle. “Hopefully you won’t see her again. I can’t believe we made it… Oh! Let me show you around. This is the kitchen! It’s where I make food. Mostly tea. Do you want to sit down? I can make us some.”

Peridot followed Julia around the kitchen with interest as she boiled water and prepared the teabags, questioning her about the function of every appliance she used. Soon they were both seated at the little table with two steaming cups.

Julia watched with wonder as Peridot drank it piping hot. “I can’t believe you can do that,” she said. “That’s straight from the kettle. I add cold water to mine.” 

“Why? Don’t you consume tea for the flavour, not the temperature?”

“That’s – um, that isn’t important right now. We need to go through some rules. One – actually, this is kind of obvious, but absolutely no answering the door. If someone knocks, I’ll see who it is and you hide in the bedroom. Oh, and, if I’m not home, then just don’t make a sound until they go away. So maybe it’d be best to, um, not be too noisy while I’m away, or they’ll think someone’s home.”

“Fine. What else?”

“We’re going to have to keep the windows closed all the time. We still can’t let anyone see you. So no looking out the window, okay?”

“Is that all?” 

“Um, just about. Let me think. Oh, how about a secret knock?”

“A what?”

“A secret knock. Like, if I’m coming home, I could knock two times before unlocking the door. That way, you know it’s just me. Hey, and if there’s someone around that I can’t get rid of, I could knock three times, and that’d mean you had to hide before I came in.”

“Will that happen often?”

“I – I guess not. No one ever actually comes in here. But if they did, it would have been a good idea.”

“It would have been a good idea,” agreed Peridot.

“I guess that’s it, then. You can make yourself at home. Any questions?”

Peridot stood and looked around uncomfortably. “Where do I regurgitate?”

Julia stared. “Sorry?”

“You know. The tea. Where do I spit it out?”

“You… You don’t spit it out. You’re meant to drink it.”

“I have been drinking it! I’m done with it now. What else are you supposed to do with it when you’re done?”

“Peridot, you…” Julia didn’t know if she was more affronted or fascinated. “You don’t spit it out. You drink it and it goes through your body. Have you – have you been spitting out the tea all the time I’ve been bringing it?”

“Obviously! It goes ‘through your body’? That’s just gross. I don’t even want to know what you do with chips.”

“Chips? You’ve been spitting out food, too?”

“Will you just tell me where?”

“Sorry, sorry. You can use the sink. It’s over there.”

Julia tried not to watch as Peridot disgorged. “That’s… that’s really weird. So you do that with everything?”

“Of course. How do humans do it?”

“We need to take all the nutrients of things out of food when we eat it. It goes through our bodies and gets digested. Then, what’s left over comes out the, um, other end. I guess you just eat for fun, so you don’t need to do all that.”

“That sounds disgusting. The other end? Absurd. As a gem, I lack such primitive orifices… What? Why do you look so embarrassed?”

Julia covered her face. “Peri, can we… not have this discussion, right now? I’m getting uncomfortable.”

“Right. Fine.”

Julia looked as though she was about to say something else, but gave a huge yawn instead. “Man, I am really tired. It’s been kind of a hectic day. Do you want to go to sleep?”

“Sleep?”

“Yeah, sleep – wait, you do sleep, don’t you? Have we seriously not gone through this before?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Sleep is like… It’s what animals do during nighttime. Well, most animals. Some animals sleep during the day and, um, be awake during the night. And some people, actually. Sleep is just what we do to sort of… recharge, I guess? Your body kind of shuts down a bit, and your brain processes stuff. Don’t you do anything like that?”

“As a gem, I—”

“Um, okay! That’s okay, I get it. You don’t need to sleep. But, maybe it’s like eating! You don’t need to, but you still like to eat, sometimes. You might really like sleep. It’s my favourite thing.”

Peridot hadn’t trusted Julia with eating, either, but tea was a positive discovery. Maybe she was right. And gathering data was never a bad thing, anyway.

“Okay, fine. How do I sleep?”

“Here, I’ll show you to your bed. There’s the couch. People sit on them, but it’s great for sleeping on, too. I put a pillow there for you. You just… put your head on one end, put your feet on the other, and relax.”

Peridot awkwardly climbed onto the couch and tried to lie down. Her legs dangled over the edge.

“Is this supposed to happen?”

“Um, not really. You’re pretty tall. But it’s not exactly not, not supposed to happen. As long as you’re comfy. How is it?”

Peridot wriggled around a bit. “It is satisfactory. Where do I put my arms?”

“Your arms? Um, this bit is always hard. You just put them wherever. Whatever happens, happens.”

She eventually settled down with an arm crossed over her chest and another dangling over the side. “How’s this?”

“Perfect! That’s perfect. Now you just close your eyes. I think the best way to fall asleep is not to try to fall asleep too hard, so just think about whatever you want to think about. Then, I’ll go, too. Sleeping while you talk is kind of hard. And—” she yawned again. “I really need to go to sleep.”

Peridot sat up. “You’re going?” 

“Just to the next room! That’s where I sleep. You can come and get me if you need anything.”

“Oh. I see.”

“Good night, Peridot.”

“Goodbye. And – thank you. For this.”

“You’re welcome,” said Julia with a little smile. “I’m glad you’re here.” 

 

***

 

A figure carefully picked their way over tree roots and fallen branches. They had been scouring the woods almost since nightfall, and had quickly grown bored of the heavy dampness in the air and the smell of rotten leaves.

They felt warmth, and looked over their shoulder to see the sun had begun to rise. They groaned. _Another night, and still nothing._

They fished a cellphone out of their pocket, holding it in slim fingers with distaste. They hated these things. But, they had to admit, sometimes they were necessary.

They dialled a number and put the phone to their ear. The receiver picked up within the first ring.

“Anything?” the voice on the line said. It was more an assertion than a question. They knew the answer.

“No,” sighed the figure. “Have you?”

“Nothing. Keep looking. I know you’ll find something.”

The voice hung up before the figure could protest. Resignedly, they put the phone away, and continued their search. 

_She’s always right, of course,_ they thought, _but surely she could be more specific than this. Is this punishment? Does she still…?_

As determined as they were, they were nearly ready to give up.

A glint caught their eye. Something hidden in a mound of dirt shone dimly in the morning sunlight. Something metal.

The figure knelt down. A pale hand carefully picked the item up. Another cleaned away the dirt.

It was green. A long digit made of green metal. It looked rather like a finger.

Pearl laughed.


	9. Downtime

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Pay close attention, Peridot. I am about to show you use-number-two for water, the most important liquid on earth. Use-number-one is to make tea. The second one is to make pasta.”

When Julia had first met Peridot, she had woken up the next morning wondering if it had been a dream. The habit had continued for weeks – Julia would speak with Peridot, and then be unsure if she had simply imagined the whole encounter only hours later. Sometimes, on her daily errands, she would walk by Peridot’s hideaway a little slower than usual in order to sneak a glimpse at her, to reassure herself that she was still there. The hunched figure was so well hidden that you’d need to be looking right at her to distinguish her from her surroundings. But she was always there. 

Of course, in time, this had stopped. She wouldn’t have been able to say exactly when, but Julia stopped worrying that Peridot was only a figment of an overly active imagination. Eventually, she accepted that Peridot was well and truly was a part of her reality, and stopped worrying that she would disappear one morning. 

On this morning, however, immediately upon waking, Julia had sat up straight as an arrow and wondered if the last night had been just a dream: stiff old Peridot agreeing to live with another person – let alone _her?_ It sounded too good to be true, yet also far too strange.

The thought helped Julia wake up some more. She felt around for her phone and checked the time. _10:18._

It wasn’t much later than when she usually woke up, but she felt a little worried. Maybe she should have set her alarm, since she had a guest in the house.

Julia tore off the blankets, pulled on some pants, and padded out of the room as quickly and quietly as she could, not quite knowing what to expect.

Her ‘living room’ was essentially just the other side of the same room that contained the kitchen. One half consisted of her small kitchen and dining table before splitting off into the little hallway that lead to her bedroom. The other half had a television, some bookshelves, and a couch with a soundly sleeping Peridot on top.

Relieved, Julia silently approached. Peridot had rolled over entirely, and was smooshing most of her face into the cushion. Her mouth was tucked into the crook of her elbow, and her usually perfectly maintained pyramid of hair was desperately tangled.

Julia choked back a giggle. She was looking forward to explaining the phenomenon of bed hair to her.

She decided it would be best if Peridot wasn’t alone when she woke up, and settled at the dining table with a book. She tried to focus, but her eyes kept straying to soundly sleeping green form on her couch. She was fascinated – she had never seen Peridot so serene before. Or so adorable.

Peridot muttered something unintelligible and wiggled around, an arm and a leg flopping over the side.

_Oh my god._

“You’re going to be the death of me,” whispered Julia.

She did her best to go back to reading, occasionally glancing at her phone to check the time. She began to grow impatient.

 _It’s nearly eleven,_ she thought. _I wonder when she’ll wake up?_

_I guess this is her first sleep in thousands of years, or something. Or ever. She’s earned a little sleep-in._

_Wait. She might be able to sleep for years!_

_Don’t think about that._

She decided that if Peridot was still asleep by midday, she’d splash her with a glass of water. 

_She must learn the harsh realities of having a sleep schedule._

As she continued to sleep, Peridot fidgeted and murmured. She seemed to be having a dream. She rolled over, turning to face the wall. Her gem shone a cone of green light onto the plaster. Julia thought it looked rather pretty. The projection on the wall was mottled with shadows that aligned with the cracks on the gem. Looking closely, she thought she could see the shadows move, but it might have been her imagination.

Peridot began to flail. The light in her gem harshened, and green energy spilled from her fingers. Julia leapt to her feet. 

_That can’t be good..._

“Peridot?” she rushed over and tried to hold her still, barely thinking of her own safety. “Peridot! Wake up!”

She may have been light, but Peridot was stronger by far. Julia felt like her arms might be shaken out of their sockets as she tried to hold on.

Peridot stiffened, and the green light fizzled out as quickly as it came. She opened her eyes.

“Where are they?” she shouted. “What’s happening? Where…”

“Peridot, it’s me! You’re awake. Nothing’s wrong!”

“Julia?” Peridot squinted at her, then scrambled upright, staring around the room. “You’re back… We’re here, again?”

“We never left. You were just asleep.”

“Julia! I don’t understand. I do not think I did ‘sleep’ correctly. You – you told me that was meant to be relaxing! I don’t know what just happened!”

“I’m so sorry, Peridot. I forgot to tell you about dreams.”

“What?” She sounded betrayed.

“I really should have told you, but it was so late, and I forgot to… I’m really sorry. Sometimes, when you fall asleep, you have a dream. They’re… really hard to explain. But when you’re dreaming, it feels like you’re awake. You see stuff, and can move around, but none of it’s real.”

“Is that what just happened?”

“Yeah, I think so. They don’t always make sense. And… sometimes, they can be really scary.” Julia thought about the ghostly silhouettes on the wall. “Could you tell me what you saw, maybe? Sometimes that helps.”

Peridot opened her mouth, and then looked surprised. She grew quiet for a moment.

“I don’t remember,” she said sheepishly. “How is that possible?”

“You don’t always remember dreams,” said Julia. “Sometimes you can wake up and feel like you hadn’t dreamt at all.”

“How do I do that?” demanded Peridot. “Why would anyone want to dream? That was the worst!”

Julia laughed a little nervously. “Um. You can’t, really. I don’t think you can control your dreams. I don’t even know what they are, actually, but I think they’re important. Last night, I said that your brain processes stuff when you sleep, remember? I think that dreams are what that looks like.” She gave Peridot a thoughtful glance, looking meaningfully at her gem. “I have no idea what goes on inside your head when you sleep, though.” 

“I will admit, I was not actually expecting anything to happen,” said Peridot. She still sounded a little shaken. “I thought this would just be one of your human things. I remember lying on the couch, wondering if I was doing something wrong, then…” she grew tense.

“Hey, it’s okay. It wasn’t real. I’m sorry I didn’t warn you about this… do you want some tea? That always helps me after I have a nightmare. That’s what you call bad dreams.”

“Tea would be… adequate.” Peridot began to sag back onto the couch, reconsidered, and ended up settling for a dining table chair.

“Why don’t I teach you how to make it?” suggested Julia. “That way, you can have some when I’m not home. I think I showed you around the kitchen last night… do you remember what this is?”

Peridot frowned as though she couldn’t decide whether she should be offended or not. “That is ‘kettle’,” she said. “It is used to heat liquid to boiling temperatures so that it can be made into tea.”

“Right!” said Julia as she carried the kettle to the sink. “What’s this?”

“That’s ‘tap’,” scoffed Peridot. “The most elementary tool of the tea-making process. It produces unflavoured tea.”

“Er, yeah,” said Julia. She switched on the now-filled kettle and made her way to the fridge. “How about this one?”

Peridot rolled her eyes. “Is this really necessary, Julia? Obviously, that is ‘fridge’. It contains optional tea components.”

Julia decided that was enough. “Okay, okay, okay. I think I may not have explained something properly. All these things – the tap, the kettle – you know they’re not just for making tea, right?”

“What are you talking about?”

She walked back to the sink. “What you’ve seen me use these for is just one use for them. Water isn’t just for boiling and adding stuff to. In fact, by itself, it’s the number one thing most people drink.” She filled a glass and took a gulp for emphasis. “We’re made of about eighty-percent water, you know.”

“Humans are filled with unflavoured tea?”

“No! Tea is just one thing you use water for. It’s the most important thing in the world. Peri, you have a lot to learn.” She poured hot water into two cups and added teabags. “Remind me to show you ‘coffee’ sometime.”

She didn’t admit so, but Peridot secretly thought that Julia had been right – the tea did make her feel a little better. Silence ensued as they both concentrated on their cups, until Julia seemed to notice something interesting.

“Hey, Peridot,” she said. “You’re still wearing that hoodie.”

“I am?” Peridot looked down at the faded grey fabric covering her chest. “I suppose I must have forgotten to take it off.” She looked back up to see Julia staring at her with a cheeky smile. “What?” 

“You look good.” 

Peridot spluttered into her tea. Julia grinned.

***

“Julia.”

“What?”

Peridot poked Julia in the face. “Julia.”

“Hey! What is it?”

“I am bored,” she declared. “What should I do?”

Julia looked up from her book. “Oh! Um, what do you usually do in your spare time?”

Peridot thought back to Homeworld. “Reports?” she offered.

Julia frowned. “Anything else?”

“I am unused to this level of freedom,” admitted Peridot. “At home, as a technician, I rarely lacked a directive. So. I want something to do.” She gave Julia another poke.

“Quit it!”

“Julia.”

“You’re so obnoxious,” complained Julia. But she was laughing. “I’m trying to read. That’s what I usually do in my free time.” She held up her book. “This is a ‘book’. It has…”

“I know what a book is, Julia,” said Peridot, unimpressed. “Gems wrote long before humans did.”

“Oh. Right, of course. Sorry. Well, um, you might like this.” Julia showed Peridot the cover of the book. It was very small. “It’s a book of poems, by Christina Rossetti. She’s my favourite. Do you want to listen?”

Peridot plonked herself on the floor in front of Julia’s chair, wearing her most attentive face.

“I am ready,” she said.

“Okay! Well, this one’s called ‘Goblin Market’. It’s my favourite poem ever. I’ll read some of it to you.” Julia flipped back to the beginning of the book and began to read aloud, a little shyly.

“Morning and evening  
Maids heard the goblins cry:  
‘Come buy our orchard fruits,  
Come buy, come buy:  
Apples and quinces,  
Lemons and oranges  
Plump unpecked cherries,  
Melons and raspberries,  
Bloom-down-cheeked peaches,  
Swart-headed mulberries,  
Wild free-born cranberries…’”

Peridot recognised some of those. “That’s a poem?” she interrupted. “It’s just listing human food!”

“That’s not all it’s doing. Listen to a bit more.

Crab-apples, dewberries,  
Pineapples, blackberries,  
Apricots, strawberries…”

“It’s doing it again!” cried Peridot. “What’s the point of this? Those are all just fruit, aren’t they?”

“There’s more to it than that,” said Julia, a little defensively. “This poem’s about how the words sound when you say them, not about the words themselves.”

“That’s weird,” muttered Peridot. “This is nothing like writing on Homeworld.”

“Not all human poems are like that,” sighed Julia, closing the book. “But it’s okay if you didn’t like it. We can do something else.”

“I’m still bored.”

Julia poked her on the nose. “You’re really fussy, did you know that?” she whipped her finger away when Peridot hissed. “Okay, okay. Hey! I should show you my laptop.”

“Your what?”

“Wait here for a second!” 

Julia tossed the book onto the table and raced out of the room, into the hallway Peridot hadn’t yet explored. She stared after her in bemusement. After a few moments, Julia came running back, holding a large grey rectangle.

“Here it is!” announced Julia. “The best thing I own. Ta-da!” She returned to her seat and opened it up.

Peridot recognised technology when she saw it, and was interested, but unimpressed. “What does it do?” she asked.

“Everything,” replied Julia. “It can do everything. You can use it to talk to people, or write to them, or you can use it to program stuff, and it has access to a massive amount of information...”

“You’re making it sound like my screen,” said Peridot dubiously. 

“Yeah! You told me about that, and, it sort of sounded like you had a computer in your hands. You probably miss it, so, you might have fun with this!”

Peridot felt a twinge of guilt. She hadn’t told Julia that she still had access to her Gem tech, and that her gadgets were only limited, not broken. She still felt the need to keep some secrets.

“… So, the Internet is basically a big database of most human knowledge. Obviously, it doesn’t have everything, but anyone who has it can put stuff on it, so it’d be a great help for you learning about earth!”

That got Peridot listening. She stood up and peered over Julia’s shoulder at the screen. 

“This is ‘Google’,” continued Julia. “It’s a website that connects to all the other websites. So, for example, if I wanted to learn about ‘tea’, I’d just type it in, and… there we go!”

“’An aromatic beverage commonly prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis,’” read Peridot. “Cool.”

“Right?” said Julia proudly. “Let me show you something else…”

***

Julia showed Peridot her laptop for nearly an hour. Peridot learned quickly, and asked questions about almost everything. It really was quite a lot like her screen, just far more rudimentary. Soon she wanted to try it out for herself. 

“Sure,” said Julia, a bit nervously. “Why don’t you start with something simple? Just do a Google search for something.” She pushed her laptop across the table towards Peridot. “I’ve got some stuff to do, so, um, have fun. And be careful. Please don’t click anything weird.”

Peridot had no idea what ‘anything weird’ consisted of. But she was a technician, and they had something just like this on Homeworld. She was in her element, wasn’t she?

She gave the screen a doubtful look.

“You said this has access to all information humans know, right?” she called.

“Yup!” came Julia’s voice from the other room. “Well, most of it!”

Peridot wiggled her fingers above the keyboard. She cast a few suspicious looks around, as though to make sure no one was watching, then began to type. Her missing fingers made it difficult, and the keys were too small for her. She hit each letter slowly and carefully, with her tongue between her teeth.

c-r-y-s-t-a-l-g-e-m

Then she pressed enter, the way she had seen Julia do it. There were no meaningful results she could see. She really didn’t know what she had expected.

“Crystal gem?” asked Julia. Peridot yelped. She was standing right behind her, reading off the screen. “What’s that?”

“Nothing!” Peridot closed the laptop. “I am done with this now. Thank you, Julia.”

“That’s okay,” said Julia, giving her a curious look. “That was quick. I’m about to make some pasta for dinner. Do you want to help?”

Peridot had no idea what ‘pasta’ was, but agreed anyway.

***

“Pay close attention, Peridot. I am about to show you use-number-two for water, the most important liquid on earth. Use-number-one is to make tea. The second one is to make pasta.”

Peridot was surprised to find that she found cooking with Julia to be somewhat pleasant. She had asked her to cut vegetables (after explaining what each of them were, of course) and she thought it was enjoyable to feel each unique texture resist the blade of the knife. She said so to Julia, who smiled.

“I know what you mean,” she said. “I think cooking is really calming, actually. It’s nice to prepare lots of little things to make them work together into a big thing, you know? Look, here’s how you cook spinach.”

Peridot quite liked the smell of cooking, she decided, but after it was all ready, she only ate a few pieces before deciding she did not like pasta. Far too slimy, and far too awkward to eat. She thought Julia might be disappointed, but she just laughed and offered to finish hers for her. She suggested that they watch a movie after dinner.

“You have movies on your planet, right?”

“Yes,” sighed Peridot. She was getting bored of being asked if she know about the most basic things. 

Once they had eaten, Julia moved them both to the couch and wired her laptop to the television. “You’re going to love this,” she said. “It’s called ‘Fantasia’. It’s a classic.”

As they sat side by side, Peridot constantly whispered questions to Julia, (“Why are they dancing?”) who would only smile and reply that it didn’t matter. She ended up enjoying it in the end, though. Her favourite part was the ‘Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy’ scene, and she demanded that they replay it multiple times. Julia was surprised, but pleased. Soon, though, she started to yawn.

“Sorry, Peridot,” she said. “I think I need to go to bed, now. I have an early day tomorrow.”

Peridot immediately sat up straight. “What? Already? But you slept all night!”

“I have to sleep every night, Peri.”

“But it’s such a waste of time,” whined Peridot. “Yesterday, you slept for over ten hours. Just lying still!”

“I know, I know. It’s a shame you don’t like to sleep… but there are other things you could do, instead. Why don’t I bring you a few books? I always read when I can’t sleep. I mean, it’s not the same thing, but they’re still a good way to pass the time at night.”

Peridot frowned. “No more fruit.”

It took Julia a moment to understand, and she burst out laughing. She promised there’d be no more fruit poetry and brought a stack of books from her room. “Read whatever you like,” she said. “I didn’t know what you’d want to read, so I brought you some different stuff.”

Once Julia had bidden her goodnight and left, Peridot examined the pile of books. There was a large tome labelled ‘The Lord of the Rings’, and a colourful book with ‘The Magical World of Insects’ written on the side. She ended up selecting the slimmest book in the stack. It had very little writing, but was filled with drawings of what were apparently ‘cats’. She turned each page slowly, holding them with difficulty between her fingers. 

She liked it, but was quickly finished. She reached for the book about insects. It was full of pictures and facts.

“Wow,” she breathed.

Peridot decided she liked insects. She read with great concentration until her head dipped onto her chest, and she dozed off.


	10. When Julia's Not Home

“What do you mean, ‘leaving’?” hissed Peridot.

“I really do have to go, Peridot,” said Julia. “I told you I can’t be home all the time, remember?”

“No you didn’t.” Peridot sat on the couch and crossed her arms. 

Julia sighed. “Well, I have school today, and tomorrow I need to go to work… I’ll only be out for a few hours. I promise I’ll be back soon. Hey, can you pass me my laptop?”

Peridot followed Julia’s gaze, and her eyes fastened on the laptop beside her. She grabbed it and hid it under her hoodie, glaring.

“Seriously?” cried Julia. “Give me that!”

“No!”

Julia took her phone from her pocket and checked the time. She took a deep breath.

“Peridot. I need my laptop today. Would you please give it to me?”

“NO!”

Julia lunged forward and tackled Peridot, trying to wrestle the laptop from her hands.

“Hey!” yelled Peridot. “Let! Go! Let go of me!”

“Peridot – I really have – to – go! I’m going – to be late!” She yanked the laptop away from her and staggered backwards, panting. “You’re, like, two thousand years old, not… twelve! You can’t just keep my stuff away from me to make me do what you want.”

“Why not?” grumbled Peridot. “Why do you even need to go? What about me?”

Julia felt guilty in spite of herself. She sat back down on the couch next to Peridot.

“Look, Peri. I really wish I could stay here all the time, but this is an important time for me, and I can’t afford to miss any classes. Just read or watch TV while I’m gone, okay? I’ll be back soon.”

Peridot regarded her suspiciously. “Promise?”

“I promise,” said Julia with a smile. “But I really do need to go now, or I’ll be late. I’ll see you in a few hours.” She stood and walked towards the door, but dithered for a moment before turning around. “Will you be okay?” she asked anxiously.

“Go!” said Peridot commandingly. You’ll be late!”

Julia disappeared out the door with an indignant huff.

Then the apartment was empty, and terribly quiet. Peridot sat awkwardly for a moment, wondering what to do. She rubbed her gem, and fiddled with the loose shard. She’d been doing that less and less lately, since it always distressed Julia, but…

She had still been checking her gem often enough. Aside from infrequent pains, it really did seem to have stopped troubling her.

Maybe she’d be able to live like forever? Here, with Julia?

She enjoyed the rare optimism for a moment before standing with a stretch. She was already bored.

“Julia’s not here,” she said loudly. “That means I can do whatever I want.”

The idea wasn’t as exciting as she tried to make it sound.

She stood and made her way to the kitchen – cautiously, as though she expected Julia to come in at any moment and reprimand her. She had never made tea herself, but she had seen Julia do it often enough, hadn’t she? It didn’t look so difficult.

Her mind went blank. She wiggled her fingers at the kitchen counter in frustration.

 _Tea bags! She thought._ Julia always starts with the tea bags!

Chuckling in triumph, Peridot found the box she was looking for. She tried to pick up a tea bag by the string. Her fingers were too broad to get a proper grip, and it slipped onto the floor. 

That was unlucky. She frowned, and tried to pick up another.

It really was harder than it looked. Another tea bag fell through her fingers. This time, she tried to catch it, but only knocked it away. She hissed.

_I’m getting that tea._

As hard as she tried, the box was soon empty, and tea bags were scattered all around her feet. Lying flat, she couldn’t even grasp them to pick them up, her hands only scrabbling uselessly at the floor. She had never felt as clumsy as she did now, and burned in embarrassment, thanking the stars no one was watching.

 _Only a human would invent something so annoying,_ she fumed. Her enhancements were excellent for manipulating state of the art gem technology, but apparently, not commonplace human appliances.

She decided to leave them on the floor. It wasn’t as though it was her fault, right? Julia would pick them up for her. She wanted to keep exploring the kitchen.

Peridot had eaten a few meals with Julia. She figured that made her something of an expert on human food. There was quite a bit on the shelves that she didn’t recognise, and she was feeling curious. She still didn’t exactly like eating, but the dismal failure of her tea had left her unsatisfied. 

That, and she was bored out of her mind. Julia had told her she sometimes ate when she was bored. Maybe she was picking up a few habits.

She ate a few mouthfuls of some white granules she hadn’t seen Julia use yet, spilling it everywhere in the process. It didn’t taste like much to Peridot, but it was fun to crunch on. It didn’t take long for her to finish it, though. Maybe she’d make Julia get some more.

She went through the shelves, trying a little of everything, but nothing interested her very much. Maybe there’d be something for her in the fridge?

The first thing she found was a glass bottle filled with clear orange liquid. It looked a little bit like tea, which was promising. She took it to the table, feeling pleased when she remembered to close the fridge door when she was done. Julia would be proud.

Her good mood quickly evaporated after foolishly taking a swig of the bottle before learning what it smelt like. Not only did it taste disgusting, but it burned her mouth and throat. She spat it out immediately, spraying the foul-smelling liquid everywhere. Why did Julia keep something so gross in the same place she kept food?

She decided the fridge was dangerous. Her food adventure came to an end.

Still, that had entertained her for a good half hour, and once again she found herself at a loss. Julia had taken the laptop with her, which was the most interesting thing in the house.

The next best thing was the television, so she plonked herself back onto the couch, infuriatingly fiddly remote control in hand. Julia had shown her how to change to other channels and even put a different movie into the player, but she went for the less complicated option of re-watching the movie from the other night. She liked the name – _Fantasia._ And although she rarely understood what was going on, she liked the rest of the movie, too.

She hadn’t cared much for music on Homeworld, but from what she’d heard of Earth music, she found it mesmerising. She sat close to the screen, listening intently. When the film finished, she watched it again, and this time she hummed along.

Peridot remembered what Julia had told her about other channels. If humans had made something as good as this movie, maybe there’d be more like it? She fiddled with the remote until the screen changed. She spent a moment trying to figure out what she was seeing. She was watching hordes of humans gathered in a circle, who in turn seemed to be watching a group of grown humans chasing a ball around a field. Was it some kind of sport? But where were the weapons? Nobody was fighting.

“Humans…” mumbled Peridot.

She continued to flick through the channels for a while, but nothing seemed any more exciting. She was just about ready for a fourth viewing of Fantasia when she was struck by a realisation.

 _I haven’t seen Julia’s room,_ she thought. 

It wasn’t because Julia hadn’t let her, she reasoned. Julia had never said anything about going into her room. Peridot just hadn’t had a reason to stray from the living room yet. That meant it was okay to look into her room when she wasn’t home. 

She wasn’t exactly surprised to discover it was amazingly messy. While the rest of the house seemed quite neat, Julia’s own bedroom was full of clutter – clothes seemed to paper the floor, and books were stacked everywhere but on the bookshelves. Peridot looked around in fascination as she carefully made her way inside, almost treading on an empty cup. 

She frowned. This was no way to maintain a living space. She thought about how carefully she had kept her ship clean, and sat on the unmade bed.

_Springy._

She gave it a few experimental bounces, and grinned. This was nice. Why wasn’t her couch bouncy?

That was something else to bring up with Julia later.

She considered the clothes on the floor. It really was absurd to her that Julia – and probably all humans – had individual sets of clothes for different occasions. Not having your clothes fused to your body seemed so inefficient. Peridot liked her new hoodie, but liked keeping things tidy even more.

She had a mischievous idea.

 

***

 

Julia hurried home, a little jittery from nerves. She knew it had been her, who had been adamant about leaving Peridot at home alone, but that didn’t stop her from feeling anxious about the whole thing. What if she had become bored, and wandered out of the apartment? What if she had been seen? She might have forgotten their rules, and opened the door to someone…

 _I’m being silly,_ she thought. _Peridot’s smart. She wouldn’t do something like that._

Her hands shook slightly as she unlocked the door.

“I’m home,” she said, thanking god that she hadn’t run into Mrs. Desmond on the way.

She closed the door behind her, turned around, and absorbed the scene in the kitchen. Everything was taken out of its place, tea bags littered the floor, Peridot was nowhere to be seen, and the bench was covered in… salt? _Why salt?_

Then she saw the bread.

The bag that had been full – the one she had bought only the day before – had been completely emptied, its contents scattered around the kitchen. Every slice had a single bite taken out of it.

“Oh god,” said Julia. “Oh, god.”

It was far too much to take in. She needed to find Peridot.

Julia made her way to the hallway with trepidation. She heard a rhythmic thumping, and muffled, geeky laughter.

“Uh, Peridot? What’s going on?” 

The door to her bedroom was ajar. She pushed it open.

Peridot was facing away from her, jumping up and down on her bed and laughing giddily. That was the noise. And she was wearing…

Julia screamed. Peridot spun around in mid-air and shrieked back at her, toppling off the bed when she landed.

“PERIDOT! Why – WHAT are you doing?”

“What! What?” Peridot scrambled to her feet, trying to maintain her composure. “Your appearance modifiers were just lying around, so I tried them on. And _I_ think I look _good!_ ”

“That’s my _underwear_ ,” shrieked Julia. “It doesn’t go on your HEAD!”

She covered her mouth. Peridot stared in angry confusion. She had a pair of underwear over her head, like a mask, and a scarf wrapped around her from shoulder to hip like a sash.

The absolute last straw was the socks on Peridot’s fingers. Julia spluttered with laughter as her legs gave out from beneath her.

“Why are you laughing?” said Peridot, her cheeks a dark green. “Don’t they fit?”

“Peridot,” choked Julia. “I can’t – I can’t believe you.”

“Get up! Stop laughing at me!”

Julia staggered to her feet, gave Peridot one look, and started to cackle again.

“Take those off,” she said. “This is too much.”

“I don’t understand why this is so funny to you,” said Peridot sullenly as she pulled off Julia’s mismatched clothes. “You wear these, too.”

“Oh, man,” said Julia, wheezing. “And you were jumping on the bed, too. I should have filmed you.”

“I hate you,” growled Peridot.

Julia wiped her eyes. “I don’t know how clothes, uh, work for you. But you definitely do not put, uh, any of that where you have.”

“How was I meant to know that?”

“Let’s just, um, put this behind us.” Julia suddenly sniffed the air. “Wait – what’s that smell? Is that – tequila?”

“Tequila?” Peridot frowned. “Is that what that gross stuff in the bottle was?”

“Really?” Julia started to laugh again. “Why did you try to drink the tequila? You got it all over you!”

“I was thirsty,” said Peridot defensively. “I was trying to find something.”

“Oh, yeah. That. Peridot, we need to talk about the kitchen situation.”

Julia wiped down the table and bench while she made Peridot pick up the bread slices.

“Why the bread? Why did you need to try every single one?”

“You had so many,” said Peridot as she reached an arm under the couch. “I thought ‘bread’ had to be your favourite. But it tasted boring, so I thought one of them had to be different.” 

Julia’s chest hurt from laughing so much, so she gave a chuckle that sounded like a cough. “I can’t believe you,” she said for what had to be the hundredth time. “You don’t like bread, but you can just eat salt by itself?”

Peridot’s eyes lit up. “That’s right! You need to get more of that. It was good.”

“Yeah,” sighed Julia. “I need to go shopping today, anyway. We’re all out of bread.”

 

*** 

 

Julia stood on a crowded bus. She didn’t really mind needing to head out to buy food right after coming home. It had been a fun day, albeit an incredibly surreal one, too. When it came to her stop, she edged off the bus, apologising to everyone she bumped into. Evidently, it was a busy day, today.

 _What do I need?_ She thought as she walked around the supermarket with a basket. _Bread, teabags… and salt._ She rolled her eyes and wondered if she should indulge in Peridot’s strange eating habits. It wasn’t as though she could get sick from eating stuff like handfuls of plain salt, but still, it was pretty weird. Instilling some wholesome principles wouldn’t hurt.

At least Peridot had cheap tastes. Julia would have been considerably more annoyed if she had drunk all the tequila.

When she stepped back onto the street, she saw a rather pretty woman looking anxiously about. It didn’t look like she knew where she was. Julia sidled up to her, holding her bags of groceries.

“Excuse me,” she said. “Um, are you lost?”

The lady jumped in surprise, then turned to smile at her. She was quite a bit taller than Julia, and wearing a heavy looking hat on her head.

“Why, hello there,” she said. “I am quite alright, thank you for asking. I’m just waiting for some friends to meet me here.” 

“Oh,” said Julia. She looked around. “Have you been waiting long?”

“Not long, no,” said the woman. She laughed, somewhat awkwardly. “I’m afraid they may be lost. We’re not from around here.”

“You don’t live here?”

“No, we’re only visiting. For a short while.”

“Is that so.”

The woman bit her lip. It looked like she was debating whether to speak. Julia decided to be a bit brave.

“Was there anything you wanted to ask?” she said, smiling. The woman sighed.

“To tell you the truth, we’re looking for someone,” she admitted. “A friend of ours.”

“What does she look like? I might have seen her.”

The woman laughed. “I doubt it. This, ah, looks like a busy city.”

“Well, you never know. Try me.”

“I suppose not,” said the woman. She paused for a while. “Our friend dresses in green. She has rather unusual hands. You’d know her if you saw her.”

Julia’s mind went white. Her stomach plunged.

She forced herself to look up at the woman, and realised how hard her smile looked.

“Oh,” she said. “No, I haven’t seen anyone like that.”

“I expected so,” replied the woman. Her voice was still light and friendly, but her smile looked frozen to her pale face. “But we do know she’s here.”

Julia took a step back, trying hard not to shake. “I need to go,” she said. “I have to study.”

“Of course. Good luck. Education is important, after all.” The woman gave another cold smile.

Julia swallowed and turned away, walking past her bus stop. The bus wouldn’t come for another twenty minutes. She’d walk home.

At the street corner, she turned around. The woman hadn’t moved an inch. She was still watching her. Julia couldn’t see her eyes under her hat.

The moment she was out of sight, Julia broke into a run.


End file.
